The Kenneth J. Minnaert Center for the Arts at South Puget Sound Community College (SPSCC) has recently completed several audio upgrades to make the audience experience more enjoyable and accessible. The upgrades are also helping students learn, share, and perform in new ways.
The first wave of upgrades began in early 2022. SPSCC worked with Morgan Sound to install a new front-of-house speaker system, two line arrays with eight speakers and two subwoofers on each side, and five front fill speakers across the front of the Main Stage. A new Yamaha QL5 sound board was also installed, replacing an older, analog board.
“The upgrades really provide an immersive, realistic, and dynamic sound that we didn’t have from the original install,” said Adam Michard, Technical Director at SPSCC. “Also, it’s a great opportunity for students to learn on industry-standard equipment.”
One of the first groups to be impacted by the upgrades was SPSCC’s Film program. Professor Michael Gray shared how the program uses the Minnaert Center regularly for film nights and to screen student projects.
“One of the speakers had a hum. When I screened films, it was always a choice between the audience hearing that hum or not hearing the film at all,” said Gray. “With the upgrades, we don’t have to make that decision anymore. There’s no hum and we have an up-to-date sound board to help with the levels. It was a huge improvement.”
